Mass Effect's Pandora
by transcendantviewer
Summary: Zorlite has given me and my associate, RPG Girl the rights to this story, I hope we can make it well... The Reapers descend, and with them too will the death of all life in the galaxy. Shepard cannot do it just by herself and her team, others are needed... Some call them insane, but I call them our last hope... Currently on Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

This story is a continuation and rerelease of a story by Zorlite. I am humbled by his generosity in allowing RPG Girl and I to finish it for him.

This is a Borderlands X Mass Effect story involving the characters of both in the Mass Effect Campaign. I own nothing in regards to either franchise, I am simply writing a story.

Begin Chapter 1: Crossing Swords

"Are you sure about this?" A beautiful woman asked a man sitting in a chair.

"32,000,000,000.000 credits makes me very sure." The man said back—never looking away from the dying star he always watched. "Give the dossier to the Commander."

"As you wish." The woman nodded and turned to leave the small oval room—the one that projected her likeness to her boss. However she had one question, "If I may be so bold to ask, why is this person so important?"

The man turned to her, "Miranda. This man, whose identity I don't know—even with our vast resources, has escaped every agency in the known universe. He has taken on impossible challenges and come out speaking poetry. This man is dangerous. This man is perfect to help Shepard."

Miranda understanding left the Illusive Man to his star. The Illusive Man took a puff off his half gone cigarette and sighed. He stood and looked around himself; he was alone in a half-way windowed room, staring at a dying star, and he had a massive empire named Cerberus under him. So why did he feel uneasy.

He brought up a life size hologram the dossier's target, and wondered to himself, '_Are you human? Or something more?,'_ He looked at the man's hands, '_You only have three fingers and a thumb, but have a very human-like body. But then again so do the Asari. I guess at this point in time it doesn't matter.'_

He sat in his chair again and smiled. '_Things will always work out_ _in the end.'_

"Did you hear me Commander?" Miranda asked, slightly annoyed that Shepard wasn't answering.

Shepard looked at Miranda, then to Garrus, then to Mordin, and finally to Jacob, "I heard you Miranda. I heard you want me to bring upon my ship a wanted criminal with a bounty in the billions."

Shepard looked down to the large oval table that was in the center of the otherwise bare room, "I don't like it."

Garrus' mandibles twitched, but otherwise he remained silent.

Mordin started pacing, but like Garrus didn't speak. This amused most everyone in the room as usually Mordin was always talking or theorizing about this or that.

Jacob was the one that broke the silence, "Commander. While I also have reservations about bringing aboard someone with such a," Jacob paused as he thought of the right word, " infamous reputation. I would think that you of all people would know how desperate we are."

Shepard sighed and messaged her brow, "I never said I wasn't going to get him. I just said I didn't like it." She ran her hand through her hair, "An I _do _know how badly we need people Jacob."

Shepard sighed again before turning to a now some-what smirking Miranda, "Any idea where this man is Miranda?"

Miranda nodded, "We have a small lead; a rumor that he was going to be on Illium."

Shepard did a double take, "A rumor? Sense when does Cerberus not have solid data?"

Miranda cleared her throat, "This man has been very thorough in making sure no agency gets much info on him."

Shepard smiled, "I like him already."

Miranda rolled her eyes as Shepard announced this. She was accustomed to Shepard's remarks towards herself and Cerberus. She didn't care, but it did get tiresome. She was going to ask Shepard if they were going after the new dossier when Shepard contacted the pilot,

"Joker."

"Yes Commander?"

"Head for Illium."

"Gotcha."

Shepard left the room without another word. She didn't see, but she knew what each of her crew were going to do after the meeting; Jacob would go back to the armory and take stock, Mordin would continue to work on...whatever it was he worked on, and Miranda would report to the Illusive Man. _'Just like any other Monday.'_

She walked to the elevator waving at Kelly as she ran past, _'Such an odd girl.' _After she got into the elevator she presses the button for the Captain's Deck. As the elevator made its way, it's so very slow way up she took another glance at the dossier in her hands. She read some of it out loud,

"The subject is called Ghost...no information on his real I.D...massive bounty...unique abilities...killer and hero...likes poetry. What an odd dossier."

The elevator doors opened eventually, and Shepard walked into her cabin. She took off her Cerberus civilian clothing, rolled her shoulders, and stretched before heading to her own personal shower. She turned the shower on and just stood there. She let the water, slowly getting warmer, hit her and cascade down her back. The warm water was soothing to her aching muscles.

She 'showered' for a while before Joker's voice interrupted her contemplation, "We are nearing Illium. ETA 15."

She turned the shower off and stepped out. She wrapped her towel around herself, and sighed. She muttered lightly, "One more time Shepard. One more time."

"Yeah man you shoulda seen this one blue bitch. She was _sweet._ Well, right up until I blew her head off."

"Not before she blew yours, right?"

The two men laughed blissfully unaware that their day was going to end very quickly. Both men continued to talk. They talked about life, their sexual conquests, and even their big bonuses for catching and delivering an Asari to the boss. They kept talking until one of their heads was blown of its shoulders.

"Striking from nowhere / Killing with accuracy / This is who I am"

The second man, the only one left alive, started shooting in the direction the shot had come from. He did so until movement caught his eye. He turned left and saw a man running at him with a sword, and he did the only thing that was natural; he opened fire. The bullets went right through the man. The man stopped however and started doing some weird sword techniques. The Man lowered his weapon...

"That was your fault / You should have paid attention / And looked through the lie."

The man was shocked, "Wha-"

The man didn't finish his sentence as a sword ran him through. The man looked behind himself and saw something that would confuse him for the rest of his very short life. He saw: 0- in red displayed in front of a faceless person. The person had a helmet that was very Quarian like.

The faceless man watched as the life bled out of the man on his katana. He tilted his head to the side and kicked the body off his blade. He looked at his surroundings and chuckled. It had been a long time since he had been in a city like this. He walked slowly to the nearby elevator closely observing the half built walls, the structural weaknesses, and the walls for good ambushing points. He pulled out his trusted SMG, E-Tech of course, and checked the magazine. It had been so long since people had used conventional bullets that he didn't use his Dahl sniper as much as he would like, he also didn't use his corrosive Maliwan pistol, nor his Vladof assault rifle. He mainly used his katana because it didn't require ammunition, and his SMG because since it was E-Tech it used any kind of bullet as ammunition—even the heat sinks that had become so universally popular.

As he thought more and more about this a bright red: { was displayed from his helmet. The elevator was slowing, so it was close to stopping. He jumped up and pulled himself through the man hole on top of the elevator. He held on as the elevator slowed to a complete stop. When the elevator was completely stopped he dropped a grenade into the elevator. It had a 2.5 second fuse so it should be fine. At 1 second the doors opened, at 1.5 three people walked in—one of which was the target: Nassana Dantius, at 2 seconds the door closed, at 2.2 the three people heard, "How hilarious. / You just set off my trap card - / Your death approaches."

"What?" was all the target got out. 2.5 seconds...the three were dead. The job was done. And he was bored. This job wasn't nearly as exciting as he thought it would be.

The elevator, which had been extremely damaged by the grenade, was no longer working. The man looked over the edge of the elevator and sighed, the ground was a _very_ long way down. He stood up and cracked his neck. He leaned over the edge and examined the distance. After a moment or two he was able to estimate that the decent was close to 400ft. He shrugged and jumped. The fall was exhilarating.

Garrus rolled his shoulders, "You sure he's supposed to be here Shepard?"

Shepard turned to her closest friend, "That's what Miranda's contact said."

Jacob remained silent.

Shepard turned back to the tall half-finished tower that the person designated Ghost was supposed to be at. She took five steps before something hit the ground in front of her, missing her by barely a foot, hard. She involuntarily jumped back, and readied her pistol. She was expecting a fight with a mech or some new advanced something or other, but what she didn't expect was to see a man in a black and purple outfit. She stared at the man as he stared at her. Each studying each other, each thinking '_Is this person an enemy?'_

Shepard's thoughts: Well armed with at least three different guns, and tense, ready to strike.

The man's thoughts: …

They stayed in this little standoff for a few more moments until Jacob shifted. Jacob's movement caught the man's eyes, or yet Jacob's shotgun caught the man's eyes. Shepard noticed this and noticed that the man dropped ever so slightly lower to the ground,

"Oh, Shi-"

Was all Commander Shepard could get out before the man sprang past her and right at Jacob.

"Bow to my weaponry!" The man called out as a sword, his katana, appeared in his hands and was aimed right for Jacob's heart.


	2. Chapter 2 :The End Of Zorlite

_Previously…_

_They stayed in this little standoff for a few more moments until Jacob shifted. Jacob's movement caught the man's eyes, or yet Jacob's shotgun caught the man's eyes. Shepard noticed this and noticed that the man dropped ever so slightly lower to the ground,_

_"Oh, Shi-"_

_Was all Commander Shepard could get out before the man sprang past her and right at Jacob._

_"Bow to my weaponry!" The man called out as a sword, his katana, appeared in his hands and was aimed right for Jacob's heart._

Jacob, being a seasoned soldier, was able to dodge to the right, and out of the way before the sword hit its mark. He wasn't, however, fast enough to not get hit completely; the sword had slashed Jacob's left shoulder. The cut wasn't life threatening, but the cut was long. It stretched about nine inches. Because Jacob knew the mission he didn't fire his shotgun. He didn't like being attacked, but he hated the Collectors even more. Jacob, who didn't really have time to survey his surrounding area before he was attacked didn't know how close he was to a group of barrels; when he dodged right he dodged right into the barrels. His head cracked loud enough to be heard.

The attacker, seeing an opportunity, took off. He ran down the street—he bumped, jumped over, and evaded the numerous people that crowded the street. Shepard didn't go after him. She went to Jacob. Garrus commented,

"He's getting away Shepard."

Shepard, who was helping Jacob to his feet said, "I know Garrus. Believe me, I know."

Shepard, after helping Jacob to his feet, steadied him as he began to wobble. She sighed in annoyance, "Garrus, hail a cab. We are leaving."

"Wait what? Why Shepard he's not that far we could still catch him." Garrus said making his sniper scope zoom in closer on the retreating form of the man they were here to acquire.

Shepard, after ordering Jacob to sit on one of the barrels, walked up and stomped on Garrus' foot, "Jacob obviously isn't up for a chase, and I will, and I repeat, will not go after someone who has a bounty that high with just the two of us."

Garrus lowered his weapon, _'What crawled up her…wait, never mind',_ "Gotcha Shepard. So who are we bringing? Mordin?"

Shepard shook her head, "Needed on the Normandy more than here."

Garrus hailed a cab, "Jack?"

Shepard helped Garrus get Jacob into the cab, "No, too eager to kill stuff."

Garrus nodded as he got in the cab, "Then Miranda? She's the only one, as much as I hate to say, left."

Shepard sighed as she got into the cab, and after she closed the door and told the pilot the destination was docking, "Yep. The Cerberus informant herself." After a few moments, "You think she's fast enough to dodge a sword?"

Garrus didn't get it for a moment, but after a minute or so he laughed. The sudden laugh startled the pilot and he swerved to the right, barely missing a security shuttle. The shuttle didn't stop, but the cab pilot was cursing at Garrus in his native language. Garrus tried to calm the man, but he yelled at Garrus all the way to docking. All the while Shepard was smiling and thinking, _'It's nice to watch someone else get yelled at', _and as the cab got closer to the destination she contacted Joker,

"Joker."

"Yeah, Shepard?"

"Have Miranda meet me at docking."

"I'll try, but…"

"But what Joker?"

"She's kinda in an argument right now."

Shepard sighed and put her forehead against the glass of the cab's door, "With who and what for?"

"Garner, and because he dug up about fifteen of her cameras that she had hidden throughout the Normandy."

"Ha," Shepard smiled and mentally thanked the cook, "well, tell her it's an order. We met Ghost."

"Really? What's he like? Is he tall? I bet he's short…"

"Joker."

"Yes Commander?"

"Now please."

"Right away, Commander."

When the man ran, he didn't run from fear, but from excitement; the woman was the dead Specter Shepard. And who, if anyone, could provide a better challenge then Shepard? But first he needed to speak with the Asari information broker. He made his way to an almost empty street before he hailed a cab. When the cab lowered itself to pick him up he threw a large bag of credits onto the floor in front of him—this also made the man an oddball of society because no one carried around actual credits anymore—and pointed in the general area of the marketplace. The man seemed to understand because he went to the marketplace.

The ride took about five minutes, and when he finally reached the destination he jumped out of the cab and made his way—as quickly and as inconspicuously as possible for a man in a purple outfit—to the information broker. He stopped short, and ducked behind a corner when he saw who was coming out of the info broker's office; Shepard. He thought about his options.

Ghost and run her through on his katana.

Try to follow her and shoot her in the head.

Try a diplomatic approach.

All three options were available, but the last one seemed like the odd one out. For now he would follow and observe. She would provide a challenge and he would not let anyone else kill her.

"Shepard, I must say; I didn't expect you to ask for my help."

Shepard shrugged, "What can I say Miranda? Miracles happen."

Miranda and Shepard had been continuing their meaningless babble for some time; since they left Liara's office. Shepard decided that she would go after the Justicar before attempting to get Ghost again. So now Garrus, Miranda, and herself were on their way to speak to a security officer that knew where the Justicar would be.

_~She needs help, but why? / There is much hostility/dissension within ~_

Shepard, after speaking with the security officer knew where to go to find the Justicar; the commercial spaceport and she knew it might be as tough as it was when she went for Ghost. How ironic that she was being hunted by the person she hunted just a little while before.

"So this Justicar is supposed to be an amazing biotic right?" Garrus asked the air, not really expecting an answer.

Miranda thought she would be nice today, "Yes Garrus, Justicars are famous for being among the most powerful biotic users from the Asari people."

Garrus looked around himself, "What is that?" his odd, out of the blue question got just as odd looks from his companions, "it's like a buzzing noise."

Shepard chuckled and lightly punched Garrus on the shoulder, "A Turian with a funny bone, how rare."

Miranda sighed in annoyance, "I'll remember that when you run out of heat sinks, Vakarian."

_~A Justicar here?/ Wonder how Lilith is now/ One hundred options~ _

After a small search Shepard and company—even the one not in Shepard's company—found the Justicar tearing a group of Eclipse mercenaries apart. She, using her biotics, threw a merc down and proceeded to kill her when she didn't answer the Justicar's questions.

"She was unarmed!" Shepard was mad, and she said what was on her mind when she was mad.

"Her usefulness ended when she could not tell me what I needed. Also, she was a mercenary. A criminal. By my code I couldn't let her live." The Justicar replied with a monotone voice.

Shepard was flabbergasted. Even she has never killed an unarmed enemy. She was going to ask what code the Justicar was talking about, but was interrupted by the officer that had helped them find the Justicar,

"Excuse me, Commander…" she turned to the Justicar, "…But my superiors want me to bring you in."

"I respect you duty officer, and I will allow myself to be detained. However, after a day has passed my code demands I resume my mission. Through any means necessary."

The officer, Anaya Shepard recalled, replied, "Well then… Hopefully… Shepard can get whatever it is that you are trying to do done."

Anaya looked, almost pleadingly, at Shepard, who said, "Give me the details…"

The Justicar turned to Shepard and gave her a data pad, "All the information is here. I just need the name."

As the officer and the Justicar were leaving Shepard called out, "If I find what you need will you help me in my mission?"

The Justicar raised her right hand, "Speak to me after you have the name of the ship." and continued to follow Anaya.

Shepard sighed heavily, "Liara wasn't nearly as hard to get on my team."

Shepard and company then proceeded toward where the information they needed would be; an Eclipse mercenary base.

_~Why is she needed…/ Mission might be difficult/ Ha! A new challenge!~_


	3. Chapter 3: The next up to bat

The following story is a continuation of a story originally under Zorlite's profile. He gave me the right to continue it for him and the ability to use its previous chapters as though they were my own. And Zorlite, if you're reading, let me know what you think.

Mass Effect's Pandora Version 2, Chapter 3. Important Information

Commander Shepard and her team and their silent follower walked without a rush as the mission was done. The casual pace at which Shepard and her team traveled aggravated Ghost as he followed. He began to think that he was discovered, being led to believe that he was still the hunter. A grin graced his lips momentarily. "_A better challenge/ The hunter is now hunted/ Poetic, Shepard…"_ he thought to himself, stopping where he was. He then looked around and disappeared, fading into the shadows as he jumped up onto a building. _"…But you do not know/ The extent of my cunning/ And your downfall…"_ Ghost continued to think as he scaled up the side of the building and found new shadows to hide in. He looked down at the three seemingly clueless soldiers as they continued on their way.

With Shepard.

Shepard walked at a leisurely pace as to test the waters around her, for some reason, ever since leaving Liara's office, she felt like someone or something was following her. That feeling that most people get when they realize that something is around that they cannot see but are aware of… then, as time progressed, the feeling faded away, leaving her confused.

With Ghost.

I stood on a rooftop, observing Shepard as she walked on, her body language now suggesting that she was aware of something watching, so I simply waited for her to continue moving and get farther away. I then noticed a slight shift in Shepard's appearance as she lifted her hand to her head.

With Shepard.

She continued on without another thought to the feeling of being observed for another couple of seconds when her communicator rang softly in her HUD. She accepted the contact; it was Joker.

"Joker, I swear if this is another of your cat-calls because you can see my ass from the ship, I'm going to make you use the stairs to get to the mess hall from now on…" She said in a slightly teasing manner.

"Uh… No, Commander… We… uh… received a message…" he replied, his voice shaky with slight fear.

"So? We get messages all the time! Why is this one so important!" she shouted impatiently.

"Because it was coming from EDI's AI Core… Like someone was connected to her…" Joker said in a stammering response.

"Mr. Moreau is correct, Shepard, I was used as a conduit to the ship's communications directly; something that should be impossible, even to the most skilled hackers. Not even the Geth could manage such a feat." EDI chimed in, her slightly synthesized voice filling the comms.

"Then… How did it happen? EDI, did you get a lock on the signal?"

"No, Commander, I did not see it necessary as they willingly allowed us to see where the signal had originated: A barely inhabited, lawless world known as Pandora."

"Yeah… I could see how that's a little strange… Was there anything else that struck you as odd, EDI?" Shepard asked curiously.

"There was an inconsistency in the way in which the hacker gained access to my higher functions to be able to communicate, the hacker did not input any code, software, or viruses into my software to enter. It was as though they were speaking to the programs and requesting permission. However, the request was impossible to refuse as my programming seemed to be drawn to the demand. It seemed as though they could seduce machines and I was powerless to resist… I am sorry, Shepard…"

"It's alright, EDI; everyone has a weak spot for sweet talk, organic or synthetic." Shepard replied with a smirk shifting on her heels to start walking back to the shuttle. Ghost took the initiative and hopped down in front of her, his seemingly Quarian visor projecting a smiley face emoticon. Shepard immediately pulled out her pistol and trained it on the assassin's head. "Where the hell did you come from and why shouldn't I gun you down right where you stand?!" she shouted, awaiting his response. The emoticon faded away and the seemingly male figure turned around to look around casually as though there was no threat in a live, loaded pistol being trained on their face.

"For one; you cannot/ For the second, you need me/ I can assist you…" the masked assailant answered, their face plate returning to focus on the seemingly worthless pistol.

"And why would you help us?" Shepard asked, lowering her pistol slightly.

"I'd like a challenge/ Life is so very boring/ And I know of you…" they replied.

"Fine… But if you harm anyone on board the Normandy or any innocent people, I will not hesitate to end you… Got that?" The assassin nodded their head in understanding, displaying a smiley face yet again. Everyone just stared at the assassin with puzzled eyes as they took in the sight of him.

"So… Do we just keep calling you Ghost or do you have a name?" Miranda asked, shifting on her hips in a slightly more relaxed motion.

"Well, he does have that zero painted on his armor… Why don't we just call you Zero for now and when or if you ever wish to tell us your real name, you can. How does that sound?" Shepard asked slightly uncomfortably, putting away her weapon. The masked man, now referred to as Zero, nodded in silent agreement, dispatching a 0 from his face plate. The others stood in their respective positions for several moments as a long, uncomfortable silence overtook them all; the only one unaffected was Zero as he relished the peace. Soon, however, Shepard broke the silence with an outburst that surprised everyone.

"Shit! We still need to find that data that the Justicar was after!" she said, slapping her hand on her face mask, leaving a soft smudge where her fingers rubbed the visor.

Without saying a word, Zero reached into his pocket, or what looked like a pocket, and pulled out a data pad: his movements excited the others as they were still weary of how much they could trust their new member. Garrus had the most violent reply as he practically pulled a grenade on the assassin, his finger on the button to prime it. The assassin displayed an exclamation point and held his hands up in surrender as he held the pad, slowly moving to hand it to Shepard. She accepted it and read it slowly, taking in every detail.

"What you're looking for/ Can be found in this data/ Found it on the way…" he said nonchalantly, placing his hands on his belt. Everyone just stared at him, their eyes full of surprise.

With that, the new group walked toward the C-Sec Headquarters where the officer and the Justicar were waiting patiently.

"I believe this is what you were after…" Shepard said nonchalantly as she threw the tablet to the Asari Justicar lightly.

The Asari caught it in the air and read it slowly, finding the information that she was trying to acquire earlier. She looked up to Shepard, nodding to her.

"And with the parameters of my allegiance to you fulfilled, I will serve under your command as my code until the final mission is completed." The Justicar said, dropping to her knee before Shepard.

"I can tell that was a great commitment for you, thank you." Shepard replied, gesturing to the Justicar in a slightly bewildered manner as she did not yet know her name.

"You may address me as Samara." The Justicar said, moving a hand forward for the commander to receive, which Shepard gladly did, shaking her hand and leading the two new crew members to the ship.

Everyone was then situated; Samara in the Starboard Observation Deck, Zero finding a small place in the Hanger where there were areas incapable of being seen by others from other levels of the ship. He obviously preferred solitude, and as several days passed, it became apparent that he also rarely ate or interacted with others in any way.

Meanwhile, in Miranda's Quarters

"Shepard, I don't like how he voluntarily shuts down communication with the other levels of the ship! It's just setting us up for danger! What if there's a fire or a hull breach in the hanger! We'd never know it's there until it tears the ship apart or burns us all alive!" Miranda shouted, her hip up against her desk as she crossed her arms under her breasts, staring at Shepard.

"What do you want me to do about it! I'm pretty sure he would cut me down if I even opened the door to that place!" Shepard replied, her voice tired from stress. EDI then entered the conversation, her round orb of a projected face displaying from one of her terminals.

"Commander, I am still able to communicate with Zero, as I am the only device that he cannot deactivate. He has also left the elevator unharmed." EDI said with a nonchalant voice.

"That's good to know, EDI, can you contact him and tell him I'm going to come by in a little while? I need to talk to him…" Shepard replied, looking to EDI before turning back to Miranda. "See? The situation has practically resolved itself, now quit pestering me…" Shepard continued, walking to the door of Miranda's room and walking out. She then made her way to the elevator, calling out to EDI when the door opened.

"Yes, Shepard?" she asked, constructing her holographic interface for her.

"Have you contacted Zero yet?" Shepard asked, stepping into the elevator.

"Yes, Shepard, he has in turn requested that you grant him at least ten minutes or so to collect himself." EDI replied.

"Collect himself? Why? Is he naked down there or something?" she asked, confused slightly by the assassin's response.

"In a manner of speaking, commander, he is. He has removed his armor for maintenance and has made it very clear that he does not wish to be disturbed until he has had time to re-suit and bathe in the Hanger Emergency Shower. He has also made it quite clear that any individual that sees him in his 'nude' state will die immediately, whether it's you or someone else on the ship." EDI said, the moving lines that made up her mouth moving slower than usual.

"I see… So I'm going to respect his privacy then…" Shepard replied, her eyes slightly widened with fear.

"That seems the wise choice, commander." EDI added before disappearing.

Shepard then input the floor number for the Command Center and Med. Bay, stepping forward as the doors closed and the elevator began to move. Before long, she was standing at the open door to the Bridge; the Galaxy Map sparking to life before her eyes. She paid it no mind as she walked past and up to Joker's terminal at the helm. She walked up behind him, overhearing one of his almost pointless conversations that he regularly held with EDI.

"Look, EDI, I'm just saying that if you wanted to, it would make you more agreeable and relatable to the rest of the crew…" he said, looking to his right, staring at the slightly larger representation of EDI's 'face' as he spoke.

"And I am simply stating that such an upgrade would take away from my ability to work inside the Normandy." EDI replied.

"What are you two going on about now? Is Joker asking you to make a body for him to fantasize about again?" Shepard asked, cracking a slight, almost undetectable smirk.

"No, Commander, I was suggesting that EDI use a little more emotions, as opposed to her default 'matter-of-fact, I'm an uncaring robot' attitude all the time…" Joker said slowly, his voice cracking with a slight amount of venom towards the AI 'seated' next to him.

"Joker, leave EDI alone. If she is comfortable with how she is now, it wouldn't be fair to make her do anything against her will." Shepard interjected, her arms crossing.

"Oh come on, Commander! She's an AI! If we just allow her to stride throughout the Normandy without some sort of moral compass, she's just going to end up killing us or turning us into batteries."

"I would never do such a thing. Humans require too many resources to make into proper batteries, at least using current technology that is… That was a joke." EDI replied, the shifting lights across her display moving with her words.

"Fine… Just try to keep your debates civil…" Shepard said, turning away from the two arguing team members.

"Sure, whatever, Commander… Hey, why are you here anyway?" Joker asked, turning slightly to meet Shepard as she stopped.

"Just burning a few minutes… I need to wait for Zero to get ready for my visit… If I show up early, he will literally rip my head from my shoulders with his sword…" Shepard replied dismissively, walking away slowly. She eventually passed Yeoman Chambers, who stopped her gently with a subtle clearing of her throat. "Yes, Kelly?"

"I heard what you said about the assassin, Zero, and it worries me… Can we really trust someone that refuses to socialize, interact or even move outside of the hanger? He seems dangerous, and I don't mean in just his demeanor…" Kelly replied, her eyes squinting slightly as she leaned in closer to make sure no one could hear.

Just at that moment, a slight wavering occurred just next to the two gossiping women and they looked toward the vibrations of light. The vibrations soon gave way to Zero, standing with a nonchalant-seeming body positioning as he stared at them blankly through his mask. The two women took sever steps back, gasping at the ease at which he snuck up on them. He was hunched over slightly, listening intently to their conversation. He straightened up, his lean form towering over them as he began to speak.

"Don't worry yourselves/ I am here for a challenge/ You ALL are not one." He replied slowly, emphasizing the 'all' to say that he could defeat the entire ship should he need to.

"Why you cheeky son of a bitch…" Shepard said in a mutter. Zero heard her easily and turned to her, flashing a smiling winky face to her before his frame flickered slightly and stood motionless before he disappeared. They just stared at the ground where he previously was and looked to the elevator puzzled. He obviously did not use it, or they would have realized that someone was there… then how did he get to the command floor? Shepard walked to the elevator, opening the doors and peering up at the ceiling to check for an opening. When she found none, she became even more confused, her eyes squinting as she turned away and began to inspect the other parts of the ship. Something caught the corner of her eye when, just before she could approach it, Mordin called her over the loud-speakers.

"Commander. Med Bay. Meet me in five minutes." The Salarian said in his usual quick voice before the line went silent. She immediately made a bee-line toward the door on the side of the elevator. In several seconds, Shepard was at the door to Mordin's Med Lab, slightly confused as to whether she should actually open the door or simply walk away. The fast-paced doctor slightly creaped her out, being only predictable to EDI as she was a super computer wired to a mind that could understand. Soon, despite her doubts, she opened the door and stepped through, watching him intently to make sure that he wouldn't do anything dangerous. He looked up from his work, whatever it may have been and spoke wisely at her.

"Must be careful. Zero strange. Curiosity not your fault… Zero prefers to be anonymous. Reputation precedes him." Mordin said in a very long winded address.

"Uh… Thanks? I'm not sure what to make of that… But I will definitely keep that in mind when I do talk to him; which is what I'm going to do right now, actually, so this was rather well timed, Mordin. I'll see you later…" Shepard said casually, slightly warming up to the fast talking Salarian Scientist.

"Glad to help. Remember caution. For future reference." He said, looking up to her again and then returning his eyes to his work. Shepard then walked out of the room, taking the small corridor out to the elevator. She punched in the level of the hanger and took a step back as the doors closed. _'I really hope this guy, or whatever this thing is, doesn't become a problem…_' Shepard thought to herself. The slow elevator began its decent, eventually reaching the hanger. The door slid open, revealing a dimly lit, large room that had several boxes and large crates within it. Her eyes wondered from side to side, eventually finding an even darker corner of the hanger, so dark in fact, that she could not make out how large the section of hidden space actually was. She approached it slowly, her back to the wall and her combat knife at her waist, readily available for her at a moments' notice. Shepard walked into the dark corner, her vision immediately filling with opaque, almost synthesized darkness. Her breathing became heavy and fast as she felt a surge of adrenaline fill her blood and muscles, readying her for an assault should one commence. Then suddenly, the darkness was filled with an insufferable blue light that burned and seemed to singe her eyes as she ripped her eyes shut and away from the flash, trying her best to remain able to see. A soft humming erupted through the silence and she felt a heat and a vibrating sensation along her neck; someone had gotten the perfect drop on her and she was now at the mercy of her new captor. True, she possessed a knife, but this blade was made of energy and surely her blade would melt and burn her alive if she tried to deflect it with her own, and she knew that if she made a single motion, her head would roll; she wouldn't even be allowed the satisfaction of seeing her assailant as she bled out on the floor, she would be completely decapitated- without remorse.

Slowly but surely, the blade was slithered away from her neck in one, flawless motion, leaving a tingle on her neck where it had once been. Then suddenly, the darkness was removed and she was momentarily blinded by the influx of immediate, unbridled light. When her eyes again adjusted, she saw Zero standing before her, his visor quickly displaying a question mark when he was sure that she could see his face plate. She stared blankly at his 'face' for several moments, confusion evident on her face.

"Should I ever expect different from you, Zero? Extend an olive branch then immediately ready your blade?" Shepard asked slightly on edge as her voice slowly returned to its casual level of address.

Zero nodded silently, light reflecting from his visor as it moved. Shepard noticeably grimaced at the thought of bringing him on missions with the others; he would keep his word, but he was unpredictable, unnoticeable, and practically inhuman in every way. Everything about him oozed an aura of danger and fear that did nearly everything to repel others in ways that were practically unimaginable. However, Shepard felt herself being drawn in by the same anonymity that was meant to push her away as questions burned away at her mind. '_What species is he, if any at all? Was he even an organic race or something completely different? Could he even be a rogue AI that decided to become an assassin due to its computed and precise actions?'_ she felt her eyes shift to his frame, marveling at the slender shape and musculature of his body. A blush crept onto her face as her mind began to imagine his body outside of his suit, his muscles shimmering slightly against the dim light of her bed lamp as they embraced one another; her pulse raced and her breathing sped up and her palms grew sweaty. She then looked down at her palms, and to his, recognizing the lack of a forth finger in addition to the three others and a thumb that a human usually possessed. He was clearly not Quarian and was not a Geth for obvious reasons; he possessed too many fingers to be a Quarian, and he would be an animal, running on basic instinct if he was a Geth operating beyond the network that all Geth required to function properly. The mystery as to what he was only intensified her curiosity and the growing lust that she'd been repressing for weeks, trying to concentrate on the mission as she recruited her allies. She felt a growing burning between her thighs as she again followed the contour of his frame all the way to below his belt line and dirty thoughts began to fill her mind, contaminating her concentration. _'I'm going to need to lock myself in my private bathroom and instruct EDI to put up a sound barrier for at least an hour tonight…'_ she thought to herself, blinking rapidly, clearing her mind of her desires for now.

"Uh… well… as fun as it is sitting around and enjoying silence, I have business to attend to…" Shepard said in an uneasy voice. Zero nodded, taking a step back, reactivating the darkness as the lights went out in his corner of the hanger. She could see and hear nothing from the corner as she began to back away slowly, never taking her eyes from the darkness as she made her way back to the elevator. As the doors opened, EDI appeared and began to speak to Shepard as she continued to stare at the darkness on the far corner of the room.

"Shepard, Mr. Moreau has pin-pointed the exact location on the Border-world, Pandora, where the communication originated from, would you like for us to augment our current course to stop there?" EDI asked, her voice exactly as it always was.

"Yes, EDI, please do. I'd like to see this person in the flesh… And could you set up a sound barrier around my private quarters for the next several hours? I don't wish to be disturbed until we reach this new planet… You can leave my private terminal open to messages, but I would like to be left alone by the crew personally." Shepard replied, her cheeks growing warm with a slight blush, EDI registered this but decided to leave it for another time, preferably one when she had already developed a form of greater trust with the commander.

End Chapter 3: Important Information.

So, how was it, everybody? Did I impress you that had read the previous chapters written by the original creator? I'd love to hear how I did from all of you reading this, please send me some feedback and I'll happily reply as soon as I can!


	4. Pandoran Nights

After the previous chapter, I have decided that this story is going to be a little rushed in that it requires some sort of way to reach important points in its development faster. The story will not be changed and the characters will not be effected either. I merely wish for a means to accelerate the progression slightly. With that being said, please enjoy, everyone…

Chapter 4: Pandoran Nights. Begin.

Shepard lifted herself from her bed sluggishly, forcing herself up and into a shuffle toward her shower as her sweat pooled in her pores and began to leave an uncomfortable, dirty feeling within her flesh. She then showered away the remnants of her bodily exploits, enjoying the sensation of feeling free of both her seemingly inescapable lust and pressures of her life as a dead woman. When she stepped out of her restroom, she was buffeted by EDI's calling of her name, trying to gain her attention.

"Yes, EDI? What is it?" Shepard asked, rubbing her neck softly, still drying her hair to look and feel better later.

"Commander, we may possess a problem; the very instant that Zero became aware that we were coming to Pandora , he began to grow emotional and irrational. He destroyed several boxes and old machines out of sheer frustration and may still pose a danger to other crew. I would not advise bringing him along on this mission, commander…" EDI replied, gaining Shepard's attention completely.

"Yeah… that sounds like the best course of action… Alert the others that we will be dropping in 5 and that they should be geared up and ready to go…" Shepard said softly, waving EDI off as to get dressed.

Several moments pass as Shepard readies herself for the mission; putting on her armor, selecting her weapons, and the like. She soon steps out of her quarters, adjusting her comms and calling up the other members of her squad that she was going to bring with her. After careful consideration, she decides that before she or her team embarks, she will talk to Zero and see if she can learn anything about the assassin before he starts tearing chunks out of the ship and sends Miranda into a nuclear meltdown of unbridled rage and tries to confront him.

"EDI? I'm going to check up on Zero to make sure he's not going to endanger anyone on the ship… I'll pick the members of my team when I return… And DON"T let anyone down into the hanger until I return, and if I don't, open the hanger door and lock down all other doors and leave this planet. Quickly." Shepard said in a slowly darkening tone, turning to face EDI's projected face.

"Yes, Commander… And please, do not make any sudden moves around him, he seems to be very irritable." EDI replied as her hologram flickered away.

Shepard then made her way to the elevator, soon hearing a strange noise that alerted her to take a step back; just as she did so, a blue blade flew by where her head previously was, leaving a fine, precise slice in the metal of the elevator frame. She turned around to see Zero looming over her, he stood silently, his body just as inhumanly refined as usual. He straightened himself to his full height, putting away his blade and looking down at Shepard as she struggled to regain her breath.

"You should have told me/ That was your only warning/ Not to leave me out…" he said slowly before walking silently off to the debriefing room. Small talk could be heard in the room and quickly fell silent as he walked in and the doors slid shut. Shepard shrugged, sighing as she looked to EDI's terminal, activating her interface.

"Should I be worried about him?" she asked the AI, crossing her arms and leaning on her hip.

"I do not foresee a problem, though Zero has a past record of being exceedingly hostile and quick to act… In his case, the fact that he is predictable makes him unpredictable… If we try to understand his actions, he will start doing things that we would perceive as out of character, hence creating a character for him that is, by definition, unpredictable…" EDI replied in a slow, seemingly relaxed voice. Shepard again sighed, removing her helmet and walking over to the door to the briefing room and holding back a grin at the sight before her. Zero was sitting in the far corner of the room with Yeoman Chambers droning around him like a horny school girl. Seemingly, when she had seen Zero up close in all his glory, she realized that he was actually very desirable, aside from his indiscernible face or emotional standings. Just as Shepard had been the previous several hours, she was enthralled by his anonymity and felt a strange attraction to him in the same way that Shepard had felt as well.

Shepard walked through the door and raised a hand as the door closed again.

"Okay, so… here's what we have… As far as I can tell, we're here on a search and rescue mission, looking for the person that had used EDI as a direct link to the Normandy… Understood?" she said in a stern voice, earning affirmation from each of her crew. Zero nodded, turning back to his rifle and polishing it slowly, cleaning the blade that had been stained from all of the enemies that had fallen by his hand. Miranda made a heavy sigh and shifted on her hips, when a signal from the opposite side of the planet shown on the Holotable. Shepard leaned forward and inspected the signal. "EDI, what is that? See if you can clear it up…" she asked, her eyes tightening into a squint as the signal flickered and produced a humming, droning noise.

EDI soon appeared at one of her terminals, saying "Commander, that signal is a distress beacon with the same signature as the message that we received earlier. If you so choose, we can begin our search there."

"Do it, EDI. Everyone get suited up; Samara, Zero, with me. Let's get ready to move people!" Shepard replied, activating her HUD as her helmet was donned. Zero pulled out his favored sniper rifle, a Hawk Eye Rifle. Everyone looked over at him with a confused look as he holstered the rifle and nodded to the commander. "Uh… You're not going to use that old tech on the mission, are you?" she asked with a belittling tone. Silently, Zero again nodded, pulling the rifle out and loading a new clip. He then turned to the door, leading the others to the hanger elevator. He pressed the button and brought them to the hanger, where he proved to them his skills.

"Now please watch closely/ My honor's been offended/ I'll now prove myself…" he said, donning his rifle and pointing to the one inch button on the far side of the hanger, nearly 80 feet away. Without using both arms, he fired, hitting the button and causing the doors to open; he then stepped over to the precipice and readied his weapon for accuracy, peering through the scope. Shepard looked out aside him, seeing what appeared to be Collectors walking about the outskirts of the seemingly shoddy town. Zero fired one round at a target that Garrus could barely see through his weapon. A yellow and black splatter appeared off in the distance as one of the Collector drones fell to the ground. Zero turned back to the others and reloaded his weapon before nodding and falling back at the edge, falling from the hanger door and onto the ground nearly 60 feet below. Shepard was speechless at the sight that had transpired before her eyes; he just picked a target that was more than a mile away and from a moving vehicle, took its head off with a single shot and then jumped out of a moving vessel that was more than 50 feet off of the ground and landed in a group of more enemies. "Joker! Take us…" she started to shout, cutting herself off as she watched Zero kill off about ten Collectors on his own, taking no damage in the process.

"Commander? What were you saying? Commander?" Joker asked, confused and slightly worried.

"Nothing. Take us down in a few minutes, I think Zero needs some time to cool off…" she remarked with a smirk under her helmet.

Several moments passed as the Normandy touched down and reunited with Zero, who was patiently waiting on a stoop that used to be a bus stop. Shepard and her team, consisting of Samara, Garrus, and Jacob, looked around and noticed a sign that read 'Fyrestone' and was seemingly in tatters. He then pointed behind him with his thumb to a seemingly abandoned building that looked to have been destroyed and rebuilt from its original parts. She led the two others to the entrance of the building and stepped inside, seeing no one inside. Then, in the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of some sort of motion. She readied her weapon and crouched, stepping slowly toward the moving object. It was a tarp that covered what seemed to be a box of some kind. When she removed the tarp, she saw a woman huddled up in the box, her hair parted to the side with two small pieces of metal connected to her temple. Her eyes glowed a bright white and on her left arm were tattoos the likes of which Shepard could now recognize. The young woman lifted her hand and everyone's devices seemed to spark and illuminate with white energy before closing down into their compressed state; Zero's weapon still functioning, he took a few more steps toward the girl before an exclamation point shown from his helm. He froze in his current position and stared at the helpless young woman as she stared at him. Her eyes opened wider and she lurched forward into the assassin's chest, hugging him tightly as she began to cry.

"Zero… I'm so happy you're here! I… I can't find John… And I can't locate my protector! I was so scared!"

What happened next was so surprising to Shepard that she will never look at the seemingly aloof assassin the same way again.

"It's alright, Angel…/ I am here to protect you…/ And we will find John." Zero replied, hugging the girl tightly and rubbing her back consolingly. His arms still around her shoulders, Zero hoisted the girl, now known as Angel, from the ground and gestured to Samara. The Justicar nodded and addressed the young girl.

"Come with me, child… I'll take you to a safe place…" Angel sniffled slightly, taking the Asari's hand and allowing her to lead her to the ship. No one said a word as they waited for Samara to return as they knew that Zero would likely react with hostility. The Justicar soon reunited with the others and nodded to Zero silently, letting him know that Angel was safe. Zero returned the gesture, turning to Shepard and awaiting her word.

"What? Obviously, you have the most experience with this planet, you can assume command of this mission… Just don't get used to it…" she said slowly. Zero again nodded, pointing to the members of his small squad; Jacob and Miranda, leaving Shepard with Garrus and Samara. The two teams followed Zero's orders, going wearily into the shanty town as to assure that there were no other hidden people or Collector drones or other hostiles. Zero raised a hand, alerting the others that they were to stop and they did so without hesitation. He lifted his rifle and released a single round that traveled perfectly straight and dropped three Collector drones instantly. He then waved the groups forward and gestured toward several pieces of cover. The three pieces of steel and other metal sheets were to act as cover to the others as Zero took point, retrieving his blade and holstering his Hawk Eye Rifle. Soon, several other Collector drones marched into the open door, swiftly being dispatched by Zero as he killed them all in one swing each, reappearing several feet from his position as his invisibility wore off.

"We must move…" he said simply, pulling his rifle once again. They silently made their way through the abandoned town, and on their way through the open exit, found a small group of Collectors in their path. The collectors were paying them no mind as they were preoccupied with attempting to open a locked door, the likes of which was echoing shouts of terror and cries from a man. Zero did not hesitate to sprint forward and used his stealth and ambushed three of the group, killing them all with a single swing of his blade, immediately following up his third kill with throwing several handfuls of exploding Kunai that destroyed the large piece of equipment that they were using to drill and break the door. His Deception wore off and he was then assaulted by the remaining three Collector Drones, but they never even scratched the massive shield that he had equipped for use with his sniper rifle. Mass Accelerator Slugs caused huge ripples in his shield and threatened to push him to the ground when he used his Deception again, disappearing and switching his damaged shield for his smaller, stronger shield. In the several weeks that he was onboard the Normandy, he'd referred to his weapons several times, naming his shield the 'Order' and pulled out an old magnum that looked positively ancient but still functioned almost as well as a Mass Accelerator Carnifax Cannon. He darted toward the distracted Collectors and sliced one of them down, chucking a handful of Kunai into the second and slicing the third in twain. The second fell to the ground, it's body catching fire and simultaneously turning to liquid under the powerful acid that was injected into its veins by another Kunai. He then walked over to the door and proceeded to cut into it with his blade, burning a solid hole in the metal and cutting a door in the seemingly impregnable wall of metal. The man inside was crying out in unintelligible screams of terror when Zero opened the wall and stepped in. He then pulled out a tall, thin man that was wearing a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up at the elbows and long, tasseling back over-hangings that were seemingly too long for even a dress shirt. He wore a vest with a pocket watch in it and very fancy shoes; he was obviously accustomed to a wealthy life style. Zero dragged him out and dropped him onto the ground, looming over him silently.

"Wha… what are you… Go-going to do to me?" the man asked Zero as he continued to glare down at him.

"Angel is safe, John/ Stop all your spineless crying/ Go be her father…" he replied, gesturing to Samara for her to lead the man to his daughter.

Shepard called Joker, telling him to send down a shuttle for them to leave. He shuttle was there in less than a minute to take the group up to the Normandy for debriefing.

"Where are you taking me?!" John cried, his eyes red from tears and fearful panic.

"Sir, calm down… we're going up to my ship so you can meet your daughter again… Pease, just try to relax…" Shepard said in a soothing voice.

"This is all your fault, you monster! I hired you to protect my baby girl! Instead, you just up and leave?! And you left her with a machine? Who do you think you are!? She was nearly killed back there because you shirked off on your duties! You make me sick!" John shouted, spitting intentionally on the assassin's face plate. In a hollow, synthesized grumble, Zero grabbed John by the color and lifted him out of his seat and pulled him effortlessly toward him.

"I could not stay, John…/ No like she wanted me to…/ She was far too young…" Zero said softly, his actions seemingly not reflecting the emotions behind his words.

"She just had a crush on you! She would have gotten over you if you put her down…" John replied, his rage fading as well.

"She asked me to make love to her, John…" Zero said almost silently, ensuring that only John had heard him, despite the cramped transport. John's eyes widened.

"She… Wha-…?" he asked, struck hard by the assassin's words.

"She wanted me to be her lover…" Zero said quietly, once again breaking his normal form of speech. John just stared at the masked man, still knocked far away from forming any sort of coherent thought. The door to the shuttle opened and the group stepped out and walked to the elevator and moved to the briefing room for a chat.

End Chapter 4: Pandoran Nights.

Sorry for this chapter being so short, guys… I was getting too far behind in all my stories and was not going to let it get out of hand… After this chapter, I'm going to start work on A New Life. So to anyone reading this that has read that story as well, just hold out for a little while yet, it'll be out in a few days…


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